In brief: Smartphones put rhinos at risk

Poaching by smartphone, sinking cruise prices and return trips to the moon

Tech threat: tourists' smartphones are being used to aid rhino-poaching in Africa (Steven L. Raymer)

In the week that Prince William spoke out about rhino-poaching in Africa,
evidence is emerging that tourists’ smartphones are being used to target the
endangered animals.

The multimillion-pound trade in rhino horn (which commands a wholesale price
of £28,000 per lb in the backstreets of Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City), has
made those responsible for the protection of the animals extremely reluctant
to talk about methods used by the poaching gangs. However, sources have told
The Sunday Times about a practice that was first reported in 2011, when
three rhinos were attacked on a reserve near Cape Town. “The method is to
send a young couple on safari with a GPS-enabled smartphone, which they use
to take a photo of the rhino. The exact co-ordinates are attached to the
picture, allowing poachers to come in after dark and track the animal,” said
Marc Reading, who represents South Africa’s national parks.